Here comes the Rain and I need Protection

Irish Gunner

Ok the first of the floods came yesterday and I got soaked through on the commute into work. This is the only cycling I do

The bottom pants (Altura) are ok and I had shoe covers I got in Aldi a few weeks ago but somehow socks & shoes still go wet. Don’t have leather shoes just canvas trainers. Did not buy the waterproof socks in Aldi a few weeks ago unfortunately. Up top have North Face running top, fleece and Altura Rain jacket (6 years old). Head ok as have cover for helmet and neck warmer. Also need a new waterproof bag that is big enough to carry clothes, lunch spare tube etc so big enough and also a cover for the rain.

With Black Friday or week as it now seems on the horizon may look out for more protection

So any recommendations not necessarily on Amazon just in general

Cheers

beans

I can't recommend Lomo dry-bags highly enough.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lomo-Dry-Bag-Daysack-30L/dp/B00E8JFT4G

As to the rest, I just get wet and change in work so can't really suggest anything (other than embracing the rain)

Alanstrainor

beans wrote: »

As to the rest, I just get wet and change in work so can't really suggest anything (other than embracing the rain)

IMO most commuters end up in this mindset after a time. I know that's how I deal with it. I would recommend investing in a good pair of rain covers for shoes. I'm not sure whether the Aldi ones are the best. I have these and find them pretty good, even in the downpours in the last few days they kept my shoes mostly dry:

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/bbb-heavy-duty-oss-overshoes-bws02b-aw17/rp-prod45049

It's just a complete pain having the shoes get soaked and trying to dry them in time for home.

If it were me, I'd have a breathable waterproof top/jacket with jersey underneath. Normal cycling padded shorts, with shoe covers. I wouldn't bother with helmet covers, I find them awkward and sweaty, but I wear a cycling cap under the helmet (not that it helps too much with the rain, except for keeping the rain out of the eyes).

Wishbone Ash

Regarding the back-pack - I just put everything into a large bin liner and fold it over several times. It doesn't bother me if the back-pack is wet as the contents will be dry.

magicbastarder

ditto for me.

@OP - do you have showers in your workplace?

Irish Gunner

Will have a look at the Lomo bags not sure if 30 L big enough not sure what size current bag is? Wrap work clothes in plastic bags so they don't get wet so might have to put everything in bag including towel

Bought a pair of Shoe Covers from Wiggle but zip broke so thus bought the ones in Aldi

Jacket I have on body ok rain does not get in just seems to on the Sleeves

Showers in work but then there is the queues for them and not great waiting in line while soaked:(

I do embrace the rain its the wind I hate:mad:

Grassey

Yesterday I was modelling (from galibier.cc):

Galibier Mistral Bib Tights
Galibier Mistral Jacket
Galibier Mistral Rain Cap
Galibier Barrier Over Shoes
Galibier Firefeet
Galibier Merino base layer
neoprene gloves (a bad bad choice)

Also Had a Galibier Tourmalet rain jacket as backup, but forgot my Galibier Barrier Gloves

Feet were a little wet but not cold, hands were drenched and cold (should have gone with the galibier ones!). Legs a little wet, but warm, waist up was bone dry.

I picked up 2 Altura panniers for price of 1 a while back which do the job for bringing tings in/out and keeping them dry.


Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I tend to spend more on my commuting gear as you'll use it 10 times a week, nothing more disheartening than arriving to work cold & miserable and having hours ahead of you before you'll warm up to put back on damp cheap gear.



* I may have a galiber addiction...

mloc123

Grassey wrote: »

Yesterday I was modelling (from galibier.cc):

Galibier Mistral Bib Tights
Galibier Mistral Jacket
Galibier Mistral Rain Cap
Galibier Barrier Over Shoes
Galibier Firefeet
Galibier Merino base layer
neoprene gloves (a bad bad choice)

Also Had a Galibier Tourmalet rain jacket as backup, but forgot my Galibier Barrier Gloves

Feet were a little wet but not cold, hands were drenched and cold (should have gone with the galibier ones!). Legs a little wet, but warm, waist up was bone dry.

I picked up 2 Altura panniers for price of 1 a while back which do the job for bringing tings in/out and keeping them dry.


Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I tend to spend more on my commuting gear as you'll use it 10 times a week, nothing more disheartening than arriving to work cold & miserable and having hours ahead of you before you'll warm up to put back on damp cheap gear.



* I may have a galiber addiction...

I picked up some Galibier stuff recently... really like it

Macy0161

I have an Altura pannier too, and everything was dry after yesterdays commute*. Before going panniers, I just went regular hiking pack pack with rain cover (and plastic bag as a fail safe). My experience both on the bike, and hiking, is that where the strap is in contact with the jacket effects the waterproofing of the jacket. I'd seriously consider a pannier rack if it is the only cycling you do, as I find it much more comfortable in all seasons to be honest.

If you don't mind a messanger bag, polaris have their Aquanought Courier Bag on offer which seems to have good reviews, but you'd probably want to addresspal/ parcel motel the postage. https://www.polaris-bikewear.co.uk/Aquanought-Courier-Bag-p/pol01-5077-p.htm

*My feet and shoes weren't dry. Water does run down your legs into waterproof overshoes and socks, in my experience. Admittedly I don't spend much on overshoes as I do too much walking in them so wear through them.

What Username Guidelines

Some good advice here from a couple of months back

Alanstrainor wrote: »

IMO most commuters end up in this mindset after a time. I know that's how I deal with it

Same. When you get torrential rain like yesterday and what's forecast tomorrow, and you have showers in work, I just wear the usual shorts and waterproof jacket and dump all my work clothes in a plastic bag inside the backpack, and get changed in work.

Irish Gunner wrote: »

Will have a look at the Lomo bags not sure if 30 L big enough not sure what size current bag is?

I have a cheap cycling bag from Amazon that's 20L. It fits a 15" laptop and full change of clothes, so 30ltr should be fine, might even jam in a spare pair of runners. Speaking of which, I always have a pair of old runners in work for rainy days.

beans

Irish Gunner wrote: »

Will have a look at the Lomo bags not sure if 30 L big enough not sure what size current bag is?

I have the 40L in fetching orange, and it's plenty big. Big enough to use for a Lidl shop at the weekends incorporating two types of nappy plus two breakfast cereals PLUS sundries, oh my!

The Lomo is 100% waterproof, you could submerge it in water for a while and the contents would be fine.

darconio

Not sure how you guys manage to just wear whatever and get soaked! Assuming you arrive in work and get changed after a hot shower, you still need to cycle home won't you? do you have an additional set of cycling clothes? If I brought my wife 2 set of wet clothes every day, I think she would divorce me on the spot (perhaps wouldn't be a bad thing LOL).

I personally only buy goretex shoes, timberland and clarks sell some stylish models so you won't need to change them once in work, some good overtrousers,a good waterproof jacket and rain is not a problem anymore

magicbastarder

darconio wrote: »

If I brought my wife 2 set of wet clothes every day

there *is* an alternative, you know.

Wishbone Ash

darconio wrote: »

If I brought my wife 2 set of wet clothes every day, I think she would divorce me on the spot..

Your wife does your laundering? WTF? I'd find that really weird.

(But then again, I don't cook or shop!)

darconio

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Your wife does your laundering? WTF? I'd find that really weird.

(But then again, I don't cook or shop!)

On the opposite I do the shopping and cooking LOL


Getting back to the original conversation do you guys have 2 set of fresh cycling clothes with you every time it rains?

magicbastarder

nope, we have a drying room where i work, but i've rarely actually *needed* it.

tomasrojo

I'll do what I always do and mention mudflaps:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=108094583&postcount=31
(Thanks for posting that link, What Username Guidelines)

Hiking shoes/boots combined with long mudguards and mudflaps mean I don't get wet socks or feet. I can't remember the last time anyway.

As for the rest, I wear a t-shirt under a pretty decent rain smock. The t-shirt gets wet in the end, given enough rain, but I just put it in a ziplok bag and throw it in the laundry basket when I get home. I always have two spares in a ziplok bag in the pannier. The rain smock usually is dry enough by going-home time.

Rain trousers usually do the trick. Once in a while my trousers get too wet to wear. I have to bring another pair in the pannier on those sort of days.

I guess I could wear more cycling-specific clothing, but I seem to have followed Thoreau on enterprises that require new clothes.

Wishbone Ash

tomasrojo wrote: »

... I wear a t-shirt under a pretty decent rain smock....

Googles 'smock':

...an outer garment traditionally worn by rural workers, especially shepherds and waggoners...

Now I'm intrigued tomasrojo! Do you work on the set of "Little House on the Prairie" or something similar?

Macy0161

darconio wrote: »

If I brought my wife 2 set of wet clothes every day, I think she would divorce me on the spot (perhaps wouldn't be a bad thing LOL).

I wouldn't trust my missus to wash my cycling gear, even the cheapo commuting stuff!

On a "normal" wet day my gear would be dry in the work drying room. Wednesday was pretty exceptional though in the amount of gear in the drying room which effected things a bit. I've now a spare set of gear in with my clothes stash.

Taxuser1

found SKS Raceblade Pro 28 Mudguards excellent for reducing water spraying up from road reduced wet shoes and sock through worst of weather so far.

I wear Castelli Diluvio Pro overshoe covers and cannot complain, they've been brilliant - get a size up from your shoe size as they're a tight fit but they do stretch. Castelli Diluvio Pro. I put a small piece of paper over the air vents at the bottom of the shoe for any road spray coming through. keeps the feet dry and warm.

wear a gabba with arm warmers which has some degree of water resistance but never soaks through so keeps warm. i've a 45 minute commute one way.

The Ging and I

I am surprised that proper mudguards with long mudflaps are not really being discussed more. I find not only are my feet dryier but i don't get muck on my chainset or bottom bracket on days where the road is just wet.

Wishbone Ash

magicbastarder wrote: »

nope, we have a drying room where i work....

Macy0161 wrote: »

.. my gear would be dry in the work drying room....

Excuse my ignorance but what exactly is a 'drying room'? Is it a room specifically for drying clothes with heaters/radiators etc.

(Despite being the largest employer in the state, my employer provides zero cycling facilities so I'm a bit envious.)

Mickiemcfist

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance but what exactly is a 'drying room'? Is it a room specifically for drying clothes with heaters/radiators etc.

(Despite being the largest employer in the state, my employer provides zero cycling facilities so I'm a bit envious.)

Yea a room with heaters, radiators & lots of drying racks.

Macy0161

Our is a disused office/ room - well it'd be a crap office, but technically it's an office. Just a few airers really, and the rad up full but we do have a dehumidifier which helps a lot. It generally works well, if you can stop people turning down the rad or opening the window thinking they're "helping". It was just overwhelmed in volume of wet gear on Wednesday, including the bus w*nkers who got soaked.

magicbastarder

in our place they sacrificed a few parking spaces and built a dedicated room for storing/drying gear for runners/cyclists/motorcyclists.
has radiators and a dedicated air conditioning system.

Grassey

In our place they placed a coat rack in front of the air conditioning exhaust in an open car park....

Ray Bloody Purchase

Grassey wrote: »

In our place they placed a coat rack in front of the air conditioning exhaust in an open car park....

That's the pipe extracting all the crap that people excreted out through their various body holes? :eek::eek::eek:

cdaly_

Ray Bloody Purchase wrote: »

That's the pipe extracting all the crap that people excreted out through their various body holes? :eek::eek::eek:

Nah. It's the condenser part of an aircon system which just blows air through a radiator. What you're thinking of is the exhaust from an air handling/ventilation system.

magicbastarder

Ray Bloody Purchase wrote: »

That's the pipe extracting all the crap that people excreted out through their various body holes? :eek::eek::eek:

no, that is a toilet.

rushfan

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Excuse my ignorance but what exactly is a 'drying room'? Is it a room specifically for drying clothes with heaters/radiators etc.

One of the areas where I work has exactly that. Several heating pipes about 1 foot above floor level with a double rail where one can hang various items of clothing etc. Very efficient. Gear would be dry in no time.

AndrewJRenko

magicbastarder wrote: »

in our place they sacrificed a few parking spaces and built a dedicated room for storing/drying gear for runners/cyclists/motorcyclists.
has radiators and a dedicated air conditioning system.

Do you work in heaven?

tomasrojo

Well, today was one of the rare days where my trousers got wet under the rain trousers, but I was going home, so it wasn't too bad. Again, dry feet, which I think once again shows that most of what soaks your feet is spray from the front wheel.

Wishbone Ash

tomasrojo wrote: »

... Again, dry feet, which I think once again shows that most of what soaks your feet is spray from the front wheel.

Mudflaps are fcuk all use when passing traffic is throwing water over you. Drumcondra outbound this afternoon for example - river flowing down the bus lane so every passing bus and taxi sent a wall of water over anyone in the cycle track.

tomasrojo

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Mudflaps are fcuk all use when passing traffic is throwing water over you. Drumcondra outbound this afternoon for example - river flowing down the bus lane so every passing bus and taxi sent a wall of water over anyone in the cycle track.

I was lucky enough that the traffic was totally stationary, though the cycle track was flooded.

To be fair, it wasn't the mudflap that was keeping the spray away from my feet today: it was the 80cm or so extra distance from the front wheel to your feet that you get with a cargo bike, and the wooden box.